Thursday, December 18, 2014

Makes no sense for US Senator Rubio, who is a Cuban American, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, to act like spoiled children about President Obama's recent executive immigration reforms.

Both men should be especially ashamed of themselves for speaking against the normalization of diplomatic relations with our Cuban neighbor. They know the normalization of diplomacy with Cuba is long over due. In fact, they're probably jealous because their own Republican party didn't leap to this conclusion and do something about it, before this week's executive action by President Obama.

Republicans clearly have no intention, whatsoever, of giving credit to President Obama for doing the right thing about immigration for people already in the US. His actions will help keep families together, without fear of deportation.

Of course, the value added of the President's immigration reform was to capture support from Hispanic voters. Now, the President has even gone further by executive action to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. Republicans can't back peddle on either action, unless they want to raise the ire of Hispanic and many pro-immigrant Roman Catholic voters for 2016, when both Senator Rubio and Governor Bush might be political contenders or even potential Republican rivals.

It's mystifying to me how two men who claim to represent pro-life policies can object to President Obama's immigration reforms or normalizing Cuban diplomatic relations. Both executive actions will improve the human conditions for immigrants living in the US, who work hard and obey the law, plus improves living conditions in Cuba for those hardest hit by our US trade embargo.

Republicans who speak out the loudest against President Obama's recent executive actions are clearly "protesting too much", as the Bard Shakespeare might say. In fact, Rubio and Bush should applaud President Obama's reforms, because it's the right thing to do and will help retain the sympathy of Hispanic voters.

Instead, their shocked outrage is going to backfire when they see themselves speaking, again, in the 2016 campaign commercials.....with Spanish subtitles.....